In this issue we feature the remarkable story of Margaret Benson, a double-lung transplant recipient from North Vancouver.
Benson is among a group of organ recipients and donor families who this week were honoured as part of the Rocky Mountaineer's annual Train for Heroes.
Fifteen years after her life-saving operation, Benson has continued to be an advocate for organ donation.
And there is little doubt in her mind about who the true heroes of that story are.
Unfortunately, there are still too few of us who are registered as organ donors. Despite overwhelming support for the concept, when it comes to signing up, fewer than 20 per cent of British Columbians have done so. Of those, statistically, less than one per cent will actually become organ donors.
Meanwhile 500 people in B.C. remain on the waiting list for transplant. That's math that doesn't add up the way we'd like it to.
Misconceptions play a part in this. People with particular medical conditions or who are over a certain age may think they are not eligible to be donors. But often that's not the case. Some of it is discomfort and social taboos surrounding death. Some of it is probably sheer laziness.
With today's online system, however, it literally takes only a couple of minutes to register. That act could potentially save up to eight people.
We encourage everyone to think about it, knowing that it could just as easily be you or your loved one on the waiting list one day, hoping for a second chance.
